Wig construction



Dec. 8, 1953 E. A. CORSILLO WIG CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 6, 1950 qui.'

n. cores/a0,

EAI/

IN VEN TOR.

Patented Dec. 8, 19513 imrrso stars TENT OFFICE This invention relates to wigs and other types of artificial hair structures, and more particularly to improvements in the foundation frames upon which hair material is secured in the manufacture of wigs and the like.

More particularly, the reinforced wig foundation of the present invention is designed primarily for use in wigs of the type commonly used on clothing display mannequins, but it is to be understood that it is not necessarily limited to such USS.

An object of my present invention is to provide novel and highly efcient reinforcement for the foundation member of a wig or the like, whereby is attained enhanced security against accidental dislodgement of the wig from the head upon which it is being worn, and against displacement of the wig from the exact position in which it has been adjusted upon the head.

A further object in this connection is to make it possible to seat a wig securely in the exact position desired upon a head, in spite of the fact that the wig might not .be of the exact size which that particular head calls for. This feature of the present invention makes it particularly advantageous for use in wigs designed for display figures, particularly those used by the larger commercial establishments requiring a relatively large number of such fixtures to dress their Windows and for display purposes elsewhere, as

throughout a large store or show room. It is common practice in selecting a mannequin to display a particular garment, to give consideration to size, posture, and the like, to suit the garment and the surrounding environment in which the display is to be arranged, but without regard to the color, style, or arrangement of the hair, since after other considerations have been taken care of, a suitable wig can be fitted to the iigures head. It has been found, however, that the wigs of a certain head size carried in stock by a large department store, forexample, are interchangeable among all the display figures having that certain head size. But there is no uniformity of head size in commercially available display figures; and consequently it is necessary for a firm of this nature tok stock large assortment of wigs in each of the many different head sizes apt to be found among the assortment of display figures on hand. Since the wigs used for display purposes must be of exceptionally high quality in order to meet the exacting demands of display advertising, keeping such a large stock of display wigs in stock necessitates a very substantial item of expense. The present invention alleviates this condition to a very considerablev degree, by making each wig applicable to display gures having more than a single head size, without detriment to the final appearance of the figure. In fact, the present invention increases the facility with which a wig can be mounted on the head of a display in the exact position desired by the dresser y to create a particular effect.

A further object of my invention is to provide a reinforced wig foundation possessed of the advantages hereinabove mentioned, and which is of such a simple nature that its added cost is negligible and it can be incorporated into the structure of the wig foundation as an incidental step in the manufacture so simply and easily that it does not complicate the-process of manufacture to any appreciable degree.

, The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of my invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. lt is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the showing made by the said drawings and description, as I may adopt variations of the preferred form within the scope of my invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a head wearing a wig incorporating the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the foundation member of the wig of Figure 1 prior to the attachment of the hair material thereto. A portion of one of the plies of the foundation member is turnedback the better to reveal the details of the present invention.

l Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical sectional view, the plane of section being indicated by the line 3 3 of Figure 1 and the direction of view by the arrows.

Figure 4 is a detail view in horizontal section,

taken upon the line 4-4 of Figure 3, with the direction of View as indicated by the arrows.

Inl the commercial manufacture of wigs,

`whether they are to be worn by humans or to be used upon display figures, it is customary practice to employ a foundation member such Aas that indicated at 6 to the upper surface of 3 on the human head, the hair material 1 frequently employed is rayon, nylon, hemp, or other stranded or fibrous material. The strands are affixed to the foundation member 6 in any suitable manner such as being stitched thereto or by being entwined with the cross strands of the material of which the foundation member B is constructed.

The foundation member is conventionally made of .a suitable number of 'layers or plies of a comparatively stiff textile fabric, such as buckram, These several plies are regularly bonded together into a unitary structure by starch which serves the added purpose of increasing -the `inherent stiffness of the completed foundation member 6. However, before the starch is vpermitted to dry it is shaped, as upon a .suitable form, so as to be convex on its upper surface and concave on its under surface substantially -to the form and size of the head which the wig being constructed is intended `to lit. The foundation member t is so constructed that, when worn upon -thehead it covers a major portion of -thearea of the top and the back of the head `on which vhair normally grows, or in the case of a wig being constructed for use upon a display gure, the corresponding portions of the `head of such a xfigure. Each of the vtwo sides ii of the foundation member 6 is conventionally provided -with a notch 9 in its lower edge of Such size and so positioned that Ait is adapted to Vaccommodate -the ear H of the person or display figure wearing the wig; .and a relatively narrow tongue l 2 extends downwards from the lower edge of the foundation member 6 -iust forward of each of these notches 9. In the human vhead there is normallya slight depression in the skull just forward of the ears; and accordingly if these tongues 4i2 can be :made to curve inwards lslightly at and adjacent their lowerends `they Acan be made te serve efficiently in securing the foundation member E in fixed position upon the human :head or, in the ^event 'thatthe head of a display ligure issimilarly provided with'a corresponding'slight depression immediately in front-of each of its ears, a wig can similarly be disposed with `a substantial degree Kof security thereupon.

:My invention contemplates the provision of reinforcing means for the foundation member .of wigs of the general-character described whichoperate to impart to the wig the added degree of security with which it remains in position upon a head, by making the tongues l2 of the foundationmember o materially stiffer than in wigscon- -structed in accordance withconventional practice and thereby making -itgpossible to impart the inward curvature to the lower portions of the tongues I2 which will enable them to seat so firmly within the depressions just forward-of the ears, to which reference has been made hereinabove, "that the wig of which they are part will remain securely inthe exact position to whichit has been adjusted upon the head with Ta very substantial degree of dependability. I accom- -plish this purpose of the present invention 'by imbedding a small lstrip i6 of material within each side y8 vof the foundation member :6, with the vlower end of each of these strips 'i6 extending downwards throughout the entire length of vthe associated tongue i12, as clearly shown in Figure 2.

The principal requirements of the material fof which these strips -IS are formed are that it shall be materially stiffer than the `material of which the yfoundation member 5 is constructed and yet that it shall be possessed of an elastic limit considerably less than that of the material of the foundation E. Being possessed of the rst of these requirements, i. e., that it shall be stiffer than the material of the foundation, the presence of the reinforcing strip I6 in each of the tongues I2 will impart to that tongue a degree of stiffness considerably greater than that characterizing the tongue of a weak foundation not so reinforced and consequently lrnuch better able to retain any shape or configuration to which it is formed. The second essential characteristic fof the material of each strip it, to wit, its having a lesser elastic limit than the fabric of the foundation B, permits bending the portion of the foundation within which the strips I6 are embedded far enough to exceed the elastic limits of the material of the strips I6 and then to release the -pressure exerted against the material in so bending it without the tendency for the bent portion .of the foundation E to `return to its initial position. These two `features of the strips I6 in co-operation with each other permit moulding or shaping the foundation 6 within which they are incorporated to the exact configuration and curvature -vwhich the requirements of any particular circumstances may dictate. Without being so reinforced, each of the tongues IZ could be deflected 'inwards considerably more easily, causing Vthem to 'nt into the hereinabove mentioned hollows, or depressions, in the head being tted, just forward of the ears, because of the fact that when not reinfcrced in the manner described the tongues are notas stiff. But being possessed of the relatively high coefficient of elasticity the .tongues would be much more apt to spring back into their original .position with `the result that they would not .have the ability of locking .or anchoring the foundation 5 securely upon the head. On the other'hand, when the reinforcing strips I6 are incorporated into the tongues l2 and the immediately adjacent portions of the foundation 8, the tongues I2 can, by exerting a somewhat greater degree of pressure thereagainst than is required when .the tongues are not reinforced, be bent to Vany desired configuration, A causing them to lit nicely within the described depressions. rlhen, because of the fact that vthe strips i6 have a relatively low elastic limit, the tongues will remain .in the configuration to which they have been formed, with .the .result that they develop a key or lock where they .fit within the depressions in the `side of the head, thus causing the wig of which the foundation .E is a part to remain secureiy in the exact position to which it has been adiusted -upon .the head.

Whereas there are .undoubtedly a wide variety vof materials possessed ofthe two described essential qualiiications, the material which I prefer to use for each of .the reinforcing strips I6 is the type Vof material known commercially as hardware cloth. This material is of the nature of an open wire mesh, having openings substantially `one-quarter inch square and composed of interwoven Aand respectively interconnected wires of sof-t iron -or copper or other material having a relatively low .elastic limit. Were strips of metal substituted for the hardware cloth, they undoubtedly would be possessed of suiicient stiffness and by employing suitable metal such, for fexamplaas lead they wouldbepossessed of a suitably lowelastic limit, but, Ibeing in sheet form, it

would be diiicult or impossible to flexthem about .axes which intersect yin the sheet. Consequently,

it would be difficult -or `irripossible to vflex such sheets to form a rounded concavity or cupped, or on the other hand, a domed portion. But by employing the hardware cloth for the present purpose, I have made it possible to shape the portions of the wig foundation S within which the strips i5 are embedded in any manner which any particular case may require.

For example, the lower end of the tongue I2 may be bent inward, and then without destroying this curvature about a substantially horizontal axis, the tongue may be flexed about a substantially vertical axis so that it is of arcuate form in horizontal section as well as in vertical section, this of course enables an operator to t the inner surface of the tongue exactly to the curvature of the hollow or depression to which it is to be fitted.

Similarly with respect to the portion 2l of each side 3 of the foundation 5 immediatley above the associated tongue l2. This portion of the foundaf tion must have a curvature considered from front to back, i. e., arcuate about a vertical axis; and it also must have a curvature considered from top to bottom, i. e., arcuate about a horizontal axis. Were the strip l5 a solid sheet of metal, it would be impossible or difficult to develop this compound curvature about axes intersecting in the strip itself, but one of the peculiarities of hardware cloth is that it is subject to flexure about two or even more axes which intersect within the sheet of ware cloth assist very materially in imparting the exact degree of forward and aft curvature and also the exact degree of up and down curvature that may be necessary to fit the wig nicely to the L head by which it is to be worn.

So eicient have these strips I t of hardware cloth embedded within the sides 8 and tongues l2 of the foundation 8 of a wig been proven to be when used commercially, that I have found4 it entirely feasible to employ a single size of wig to fit heads of various sizes. For example, a wig designed to fit a size 7 head can be used with perfect satisfaction upon heads ranging in size from 61/2 to 'l1/2 hat sizes; or a wig made for a size 21 head can be used with substantially equal satisfaction upon heads ranging in size from 19 to 221/2. It is because of this feature of the present invention that a much lesser number of wigs need be kept in stock by an establishment using a relatively large number of display figures, as explained in greater detail in the objects hereinabove set forth.

An even further range of adaptability of the wig of my present invention to different head sizes is attained by forming the foundation with a pleat such as that shown in the back portion of the foundation in Fig. 3 and revealed in hori- CII zontal section in Fig. 4. Preferably before the starch with which the fabric of the foundation has been treated has been permitted to set, the material of the foundation is folded over and creased on itself in a pleat relatively wide at the lower edge of the foundation and tapering upward to a point which may advantageously be approximately half the distance between the lower edge and the top of the crown. After the starch has set, the pleat may be partly or completely opened, thus attaining an increase in the length of the periphery, or edge of the foundation. Nevertheless, the inherent stiffness of the heavily starched fabric maintains a tendency for the pleat to close and thereby impose a resilient tension on the foundation to seat firmly upon the head.

I claim:

1. In a wig construction, a foundation member comprising a plurality of sheets of textile fabric impregnated with starch to stiffen and adhesively unite said sheets into a unitary structure shaped substantially in conformity with top and back portions of the head on which hair normally grows, and a reinforcing strip of hardware cloth embedded within said foundation member between said sheets of fabric.

2. In a wig construction, a foundation member comprising a plurality of sheets of textile fabric impregnated with starch to stiffen and adhesively unite said sheets into a unitary structure shaped substantially in conformity with top and back portions of the head on which hair normally grows, and strips of hardware cloth embedded within those portions of said foundation adapted to overlie the portions of the head just forward of the ears.

3. In a wig construction, a foundation member comprising a plurality of sheets of textile fabric impregnated with starch to stiffen and adhesively unite said sheets into a unitary structure shaped substantially in conformity with top and back portions of the head on which hair normally grows, and reinforcing material affixed to those portions of said foundation adapted to overlie the portion cf the head just forward of the ears, said reinforcing material being embedded within said foundation by being disposed between said textile fabric sheets, said reinforcing material being characterized by a substantially greater degree of stiffness than said starched fabric and by a relatively low elastic limit, whereby said portions of said foundations are adapted to be flexed less easily than other portions of said foundation but are caused to retain the form into which they are bent by such flexure.

EMIL A. C'ORSILLO.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 30, 1897 

